A Match Made in Heaven: Social Media Platform Instagram & Nutrition Communications Go Hand in Hand

Many of us are already a pro using Facebook and Twitter, whether it is for personal or professional use in your organisation. Perhaps you’re also feeling confident about LinkedIn, and you’re busily connecting and networking with others in your industry.

On top of these social media platforms lies another opportunity called Instagram– the free photo- and video-sharing platform for mobile devices. Take a picture, choose a filter and instantly share with your followers. Better still, you can even connect to your Facebook and Twitter to share simultaneously.

Why bother? From a business perspective, let these recent social media stats do the talking:

• “New data… finds that while Facebook is still the most popular social media site, Instagram is by far the fastest growing. When it comes to attracting new users, no one can touch Instagram right now.” (1)
• “(Instagram) announced a millstone last month of reaching 300 millions monthly active users, surpassing Twitter for the first time .”
• “Instagram has become the network when it comes to image-based social media marketing.” (2)

But most of all, for your business and professional purposes, Instagram is perfectly suited to the nutrition industry. Here are six great reasons why Instagram and nutrition go hand in hand:

1. Food looks beautiful on Instagram. A range of built-in filters and editing options allows you to make images of food or products look gobsmackingly gorgeous. Because of this, Instagram makes it easy to inspire those who follow you. Even foods that can be a tougher sell for some consumers (hello, veggies!) can look incredibly appealing with the right filter and some food staging! Here’s an insider tip: “(The) majority of Instagram users have been found to gravitate towards images that make use of the Inkwell filter, Mayfair filter, or the no filter option.” (3)

2. Hashtags make it easy to connect to food trends. Instagram is centred on the addition of hashtags (#) to your images, making it easy for your content to be found and come up in searches of keywords. This is a great way to engage Instagrammers who may be searching for trends, such as #sugar, #paleo, #glutenfree. For consistency, it’s also good to include #yourbrand, #yourproduct and/or #yourmarketingcampaign, where possible. And while short hashtags are usually best, you’ll find the Instagram universe has a sense of humour and #lovestoslipintheoccasionallonghashtag.

3. Reach younger audiences. If you’re hoping to reach a younger age bracket to launch a new product, spread messages or diversify your client base, you’ll want to embrace Instagram: “Where the young adult population is concerned, meaning 18- to 29-year-olds, 53 percent are on Instagram. That means if your audience is young adults, Instagram is where your business needs to be.” (1)

4. Give your followers a break from text. While others on Instagram can “like” or comment on the images you share, the point of Instagram is visuals, not words. This can be a breath of fresh air for your marketing strategy. Instead of listing all of the benefits and features of your product, or delineating the key messages of your new campaign, just convey what you want to say via a simple, beautiful image.

5. Don’t forget fitness. Nutrition is part of wellbeing, and so being active will be a common interest for your followers. Relatable posts such as being active in the workplace will offer everyone the well-needed reminder to get up and move in their daily lives, regardless of where they work or what they do.

6. Be inspired by others in the nutrition and wellness space. Break out of your comfort zone! When you post on Instagram and use hashtags, you’ll start to gain likes and comments on your posts. Explore the Insta accounts of some of those fans – you may end up following their feeds, and finding yourself inspired by others’ creativity. Or, use the search function on Instagram for topics that you care about, and start to follow others’ feeds. You’ll then never run short of ideas.